True
by Sailor Star Dust 1
Summary: Loose prologue to my one-shot Elegia fic, set post Mission 46. Also posted at Archive of Our Own. MAJOR SPOILERS for MGSV The Phantom Pain! Quiet and Venom just want to be together, protests from certain Diamond Dogs staff be damned. [Cover Image via pindakees Deviantart!]


**True**

SailorStarDust1

Written in December 2015-February 2016

Disclaimer: Metal Gear Solid and everything related to it ain't mine, it's Konami's. Metal Gear Solid is always a Hideo Kojima video game series. (No Portable Ops or Rising references.) Anything else mentioned like The Man Who Sold the World song belongs to David Bowie (Rest in Peace ;_; ) /Midge Ure/Nirvana and all other rights holders while True belongs to Spandu Ballet and all other rights holders.

Thanks: Major props to wolvesofbrooklyn's lovely Venom/Quiet fic, _The Soul's Undersong_ for inspiring the "chilling with music" scene in this. (Yes, I'll freely admit the Sep 14, 2015 4 Youtube video partially inspired this. :P All my ships are sailing!)

Any proof-reading errors this time around are my own!

* * *

Another successful mission together. This one had been a simple prisoner extraction, but the way they operated in both Afghanistan and Africa, the pair made sure to fulton the entire base. All "future recruits" in the people positioned there, and whatever wasn't bolted down to the ground. Diamond Dogs had to continue gaining their resources and manpower from _somewhere_ , especially when...

No, he'd rather not think about that, his exhaustion built-up. He was still mulling over the truth revealed to him just last week in the form of a labeled cassette tape, a package otherwise unmarked but personally addressed towards him—the return address based from California. It passed Ocelot's security with no problem, so he made a point to give it a listen within the privacy of his half-bathroom that night.

What was revealed in that tape was a truth that he'd kept to himself, for now. And whether or not Miller and Ocelot knew the truth of Venom Snake's real identity, well, they'd certainly have to sit down and discuss things in private. Eventually. No need to rush things.

How strange when the cassette tape seemed like a simple music tape of _The Man Who Sold The W_ _orld_ —he remembered the original song from 1970—but this cover was pretty decent. It definitely savored that current 1980's tone, for lack of a better description, with the droning synthesizers and overall moody feeling. He enjoyed this track as much as the other music tapes he'd discover out on the field.

As the opening keyboards and synth fully kicked in, Venom felt his mind go blank, as if falling into a trance. Or was he, in fact, waking up from a trance he was forced under? The music faded in and out of his subconscious, his mind and heart full of something faintly remembered that he could almost grasp but wasn't yet close enough to reach.

 _Oh no, not me_

 _I never lost control_

 _You're face_

 _to face_

 _With the man who sold the world_

The brainwashing, Venom's hypnosis, was slowly undoing itself.

 _Oh no, not me_

 _We never lost control_

At about the three minute mark of the song, a crackling began. Static. Then a voice that sounded almost like his own began, "Now do you remember? Who you are? What you were meant to do?"

Big Boss, the man whom Venom had sacrificed his very life for, began to explain everything within the recording, his calm demeanor unwavering.

Venom's memories of failing Paz, that 1975 chopper crash, and fuzzier memories of his mind slipping away into a deep sleep within that pure white operating room, came flooding back. The last thing he remembered before the blissful pull of going under was Miller's voice, cautiously asking the surrounding medical staff "What about him?", about Venom himself. After their Boss had been declared comatose.

Listening to the tape, he couldn't help but cry silently at his Boss's words, that he had written his own history. And how this legend was theirs, together... It touched Venom's very soul. His growing up in California, his old name and former identity, none of that mattered. Not anymore, after the ultimate sacrifice that claimed currently hazy memories of his days as top _Militaires Sans Frontieres_ surgeon.

The music had eventually kicked back in full force, after Big Boss's words of genuine gratitude and encouragement—at around the three minute thirty second mark of the song. The stupid smirk never left Venom's face as he just stood in front of his mirror, enveloped in the music. His heart felt like it was about to burst with pride at the thought of properly sharing the title of "Big Boss" with the man he deeply admired ever since he voluntarily joined the MSF. He didn't feel an ounce of anger about seemingly being used for his Boss's gain. Far from it, in fact.

It was nothing but the highest honor Venom could consider; it would take a large emotional betrayal to give up their shared goal of a proper future; of a true paradise for soldiers. Although within his heart, he would never disregard The Boss's personal desires for a world made once again whole.

The irony of those ridiculous _Big Boss is watching you_ posters certainly wasn't lost on Venom. He was thankful in hindsight that he recently requested them to be taken down. No need to fuel Kaz's revenge-fueled paranoia any further, now.

* * *

Mind focused back on the present, he glanced at Quiet whose eyes happened to meet his at that moment. A faint smile began to grow on her lips, as she stood up to lean in towards him...The smile hadn't left her face. Clearing his throat at her suddenly eye-level breasts, he looked away, nervous.

He _needed_ her. Badly. It was hard to clearly remember the last time he had any intimacy with a woman, his own still-fuzzy memories mixed in with Big Boss's own romantic experiences with The Boss and Eva. Alongside some mixed, puzzled, feelings on Big Boss's end, due to apparent flirting by Ocelot during The Patriots days and during the MSF days, by Miller. To be fair, seemingly neither flat-out propositioned John, so who knows what his answer would've been?

Venom himself wasn't really sure what to personally feel about Kaz's and Ocelot's feelings, other than brotherly love.

It was overwhelming, even a little frightening, to think that Venom had so much knowledge and experience about the legendary Big Boss, he could easily crush his brother-in-arm's ambitions if desired. But what on Earth would _that_ accomplish? He shook his head at the frankly idiotic thought. Certainly the day he'd feel betrayal by Ishmael of all people was the day he'd die.

"Hey...Quiet."

"Hm?"

His feelings and desire for her lately were beginning to drive him crazy. No use denying it any longer. Quiet certainly felt the same, based on her constant flirting aboard the Aerial Command Center.

He moved his weapons belt, iDroid, and other belongings off the seat next to him, setting the various things on the floor. He gingerly patted the seat, eyes again locking with hers. She looked surprised, but happily obliged to sit next to him.

Her hand slowly reached for his while she sat. Their warmth met as he gently squeezed in reply. The mutual attraction they shared was evident, but they weren't exactly in a position to properly enjoy it.

"Could we talk in your room once we land?" His voice was gentle despite purposely hiding any emotion in his face. It was bad enough that their pilot would occasionally, good-naturedly, tease Quiet about her and the Boss's otherwise secretive feelings for each other.

She was curious what this was all about, if something was wrong? Her expression said as much as they both glanced towards the Diamond Dogs logo, featuring a Butterfly Emblem, on the straps of his Naked Camo. He wore that particular Camo today so she wouldn't feel awkward in her own revealing outfit, alongside the unfortunate hot weather of Africa and Afghanistan being no picnic for a form-fitting sneaking suit.

He shook his head, offering her a brief but reassuring smile. "Everything's fine."

She nodded before shyly resting her head against his shoulder, yet again pleasantly surprised, when he wrapped his real arm around her. He shut his eyes, enjoying the peaceful comfort welling up within him. It was extremely rare for them to enjoy each other's physical company like this, always keeping their distance to maintain a semi-professional relationship so the Mother Base staff wouldn't talk. The last thing they needed was accusations of favoritism within their military outfit.

Bit of a sad situation, Venom felt, considering staff and recruits were free to date or consensually screw whoever, provided relationships were kept professional during active duty.

Quiet smiled at the sudden light snoring coming from Venom; their warm embrace had lulled him to sleep. He was always pretty exhausted after their deployments; even with sneaking missions, Snake would manage to get a bruise here or be slightly bloodied there. He'd rest on the ACC by either zoning out to one of his cassette tape reports or passed out, a newly acquired music tape blaring from his wirelessly connected iDroid.

Smile never leaving her face, Quiet gave a thumbs up at their pilot—he replied in kind—before she repositioned herself against Venom's shoulder, gradually drifting to sleep.

* * *

Quiet led the way to her room which she'd begrudgingly gotten used to on the Diamond Dogs Mother Base: the cell within the Medical Platform. While Venom would visit her daily on their down time, he rarely spent time within her pitiful excuse for a room except for an occasional shared shower together. Naturally, Quiet would stay clothed while he'd strip down to his boxer-briefs, considering the various staff and recruits rushing overhead Quiet's cell during particularly busy days. It'd been a routine that Quiet intentionally started: None of the staff wanted to deal with their Boss stinking like garbage or other horrifying things he'd have to use as cover during a mission infiltration. At least nobody asked questions during their showers; certainly if their relationship appeared more intimate, complications would occur.

Venom, for his part, wasn't exactly thrilled about Quiet's living quarters the closer they had become over the past several months. He hoped things could change for the better tonight, if all went well. Complications be damned.

"Hey."

She looked up to see him rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. She enjoyed it when he did that.

"Don't ever think because of the English strain, you have to prove your loyalty by leaving to protect us, or anything like that. Got it? I trust you."

She gave Venom one of her serious nods. Good to hear, as she wasn't planning on ever leaving his side, anyway.

He continued, thoughts drifting to their unfortunate first encounter at the hospital. "Don't stress too much over past sins, either. Just focus on the here and now."

Past sins...Her assassin days in XOF. Her murdering Snake's doctor and nurse before she viciously attacked him.

While she appreciated Venom's attempts at comfort, that wasn't a particularly pleasant line of thought to process, let alone attempt to discuss with her limited communication. Opting to simply give another nod of understanding, Quiet made way towards her steel bed.

Stretching out while laying on the jail cell bed, she untied her bra, needing some physical relief after a long day of work. Her sniper and weapons belt lay discarded at the foot of her bed, Venom's own weapons belt and iDroid alongside her belongings. Even her loose-fitting choice of clothes would prove too much for her skin to handle on occasion, yet she very well couldn't walk around Mother Base buck-naked.

Her legs dangled off the other end of her bed as she stretched, Venom silently eyeing her momentarily. He really lucked out with such a beauty, in various meanings of the word. She felt his eyes on her, turning to curiously glance at him, but he'd already turned away, busying himself with something. Maybe he was just a _little_ embarrassed at having been caught staring.

Clumsily fumbling for the play button on her stereo, Venom blinked at the familiarity of the song on her mix tape. Didn't he have that one in his collection?

 _(Ha-ha-ha, ha-ah-hi)_

 _I know this much is true_

Venom glanced at Quiet, an eyebrow raised, as they laughed before he joined her seat on the bed. Nice, some unintentional hilarity to soothe their nerves a little. She was sitting upright, modestly about to readjust her bra before his prosthetic hand rested atop her real one.

"You don't have to do that." His voice was low, lone eye filled with warmth as he searched hers for an answer to his silent question.

She could feel the heat rise to her cheeks. Being long past midnight there would be very few stragglers on the Medical Platform, so chances of them getting caught during a little tryst would be fairly low, but still...

Quiet was no longer a virgin at twenty-five, although she certainly had no time whatsoever for romance during her days as an XOF assassin. Sappy cuddles after out-right killing didn't exactly fit her style back then. And she certainly had never fallen truly in love before, until gradually, with this wonderful man who happened to be some twenty years her senior.

Hugging her again like he'd had earlier on the ACC, Snake offered a faint smile as Quiet nuzzled his beard. He felt so warm. So good. They continued their cuddles as he spoke. "We need to talk but...I can't outright say it. Security reasons and all that."

 _Boss...You can tell me anything. I'll still fight alongside you._ is what her eyes told him.

With a heavy sigh, he continued with the only hint he could technically offer, "Think back to when we first met at Cyprus."

This topic, again? Fair enough, she'd bite. Quiet's mind raced with the memories. Her orders from Skull Face to carry out the assassination of Big Boss. Him weakly trying to fend her off. That mysterious man in the bandages who more than held his own, and fought against her—

Wait a minute! That strength, easy-going confidence, and battle-ready know-how the bandaged man possessed. Why didn't she see it before? He couldn't have been...Could he?

"...Ah." She stared at Venom, carefully searching his face. Her eyes squinting as she really, carefully, looked at him. The scars against his face and lips, the three-strapped eye patch, his forehead shrapnel... She glanced down at his chest, somehow for the first time it clicked: He was missing a supposed scar across his chest that Big Boss was rumored to have. Venom gave a start at her intense gaze, before realizing she had pieced together the body-double situation.

"Wha—Oh. I, uh, didn't know until recently, so we were both deceived."

On second thought, definitely the wrong choice of words. It wasn't a deception if the title of Big Boss was shared, together.

Quiet simply nodded out of understanding. Nothing he had to begin apologizing for. And she wasn't exactly in a position to tell anyone even if she wanted to, which she didn't, so the secret was safe. Where would they go from here?

"Will you continue helping me build up our base? I don't think we'll run out of room for recruits or resources anytime soon."

Another nod. Of course, Snake. Always. Despite feeling some anger at the wool having been pulled over her eyes, there wasn't much to do in this situation but just go with it. There was certainly no way she'd abandon Venom after all they've been through together; not when he and the Diamond Dogs taught Quiet the concept of camaraderie. She was always alone, before meeting them.

 _Why do I find it hard to write the next line?_

 _Oh, I want the truth to be said_

The nearly forgotten song still playing throughout their chat, Venom took her hands into his, gently thumbing the top of her warm hands. He could feel his mouth go dry, the somewhat cliched words he badly wanted to say on the tip of his tongue. She was just gently smiling at him, her green eyes full of desire.

While he could somewhat understand the real Big Boss's difficulty in past hardship as seeing The Boss as both a woman and soldier, it wasn't hard at all for Venom to distinguish Quiet's multiple sides. To see her so emotionally warm in the heat of their passionate moment was a pleasant surprise, considering Quiet and Venom himself generally kept a serious demeanor about them.

"I...I love you, Quiet." He leaned in, wanting, needing to meet her soft-looking lips with his own. You _were_ supposed to share a kiss after romantic confessions, weren't you?

They desperately wanted to share a first kiss ever since that day, months ago when they played together in the rain. The mutual realization of their feelings for each other.

As such, he was definitely disappointed, honestly a little hurt, that Quiet unexpectedly dodged the kiss so his lips met her cheek. Some kind of unknown fear in her eyes. He was certainly puzzled, until her own frustrating situation dawned on him.

Christ, was it their difficult lots in life that had in fact brought them together?

His voice was firm but still gentle, not wanting to ruin their tender moment. "It's fine. I received the treatment, remember? I'm fine."

One positive of the treatment: Venom wouldn't have to worry about children, though he was already fifty-two. Kids could be sometimes cute, he supposed, but the headache of dealing with that bratty Eli before he skipped town, and their own busy lives at Mother Base wouldn't ever allow the luxury of a semi-normal civilian life. Certainly not anytime soon for Venom and Quiet, at any rate.

Still, there was life, and beauty, to be found outside of battle. Even if peace was just an illusion. Familiar words he just couldn't place a voice to. During the MSF, perhaps?

Quiet was shaking her head, eyes full of insistence to err on the side of caution. Not only for both their sakes, but for the rest of the Diamond Dogs, as well.

With a heavy sigh, Venom nodded in agreement. No use making waves when they could enjoy their company in the moment. They could talk more in-depth about their situation later.

She sat in his lap, a mischievous glint in her eye, the couple beginning to grope and kiss each other's chest, shoulders, and neck...Heavenly, taking in the other's scent and warmth in their moment of bliss. Wanting to spice things up a little, Quiet playfully reached for his neck, lightly squeezing. A giggle escaped her lips as she decided to be bold, squeezing his throat just a little harder.

Unfortunately, the wrong choice to make.

Her cold and frankly dangerous glare as her long brown hair loosely draped around her shoulders, she was wearing her XOF uniform. Back in the Cyprus hospital, Quiet showed Venom Snake, Ahab, no mercy during their first meeting. Before she had the super-human strength she currently possessed, back then she essentially bullied Big Boss through his weakened state.

Immediately panicking due to his self-preservation instincts kicking in, Venom wasted no time in pushing Quiet against the wall of her cell, his combat knife glinting as it dangerously pressed against her throat. Not again. Not this time. Her eyes wide, frankly stunned at his extreme reaction, Quiet let go while his breathing steadied. She slowly held up her hands to show her partner that yes, everything was fine.

Venom let out a tense breath, muscles relaxing, as he re-sheathed his knife within the weapons belt on the floor. Reality brutally kicked in that Quiet was in no way trying to kill him. Heavy guilt immediately followed, hurting his heart.

" _Shit_. Quiet. I..." He trailed off, real hand lamely, loosely, resting on her shoulder in apology. He gave her shoulder a light squeeze as she could only nod in reply, eyes averted.

Staring at the cold floor, neither could meet each other's eyes, both feeling ashamed. Together, they silently took in the mix tape having switched to the next song. Probably another one in his collection, but Snake couldn't clearly focus on something so trivial at the moment.

Despite mutual happiness about being in synch with each other's thoughts, without the need for words, this embarrassing little incident proved they still had a long way to go in their relationship. The guilt and shame of majorly fucking up towards each other during what _should've_ been a relaxing time...

 _Damn it._

Maybe they could come up with a means of communication somehow, especially in case of serious emergency situations on the base.

Getting over himself, Venom glanced over at Quiet, back still turned. Her unhooked bra from moments ago still against her chest. The top of her breasts peeking out was certainly tantalizing, although he'd enjoy similar sights from her on nearly a daily basis within the ACC. Flirting, showing off her body to him and only him, her way of telling Snake that she _wanted_ to be intimate with him. Only him.

But...crap. Were those tears in her eyes?

"Quiet."

She met his eyes, frowning despite her usual serious demeanor as Venom cupped her chin against his hand. She was definitely beginning to cry, as a few loose tears escaped her eyelashes down towards her cheeks. She looked a little uncomfortable, wincing every so often as the tears apparently lightly stung her skin. Very surreal to see his best buddy reduced to such a depressed state.

His tender lips kissed away her salty tears, though wouldn't crying cause her body to dry up? At the very least, their open-air at-sea platform hadn't posed a problem for her so far...Oh, whatever. As long as she stayed safe and sound, that was all that mattered.

"Please don't cry anymore.", he murmured as their foreheads lightly bumped against one another, their lips inches apart. "It was my fault for reacting so strongly." Voice firm, "There _won't_ ever be a second time, I promise."

As mischievous payback while her tears began drying, Quiet made a point to tug _hard_ on his short ponytail, pleased to see him wince slightly as he was taken off guard. So much in fact, that he let out a garbled noise from surprise. "Ghh...I agree I deserved that."

Quiet began gently humming her battle tune, once again her cheeks nuzzling his beard. A free hand lazily made its way past his stomach, towards where the waistband of his underwear was, underneath his uniform, and stopped. Teasing him. He chuckled, face flushing slightly from excitement, a wicked smirk forming across his features. "Hmm. Are you saying you have me in your sights tonight?"

Of course. She nodded, smirking herself.

He kissed her temple in a desperate effort to meet halfway about their kisses. She smiled in thanks for his understanding, while laying on her bed.

The poor girl really had gone through a lot of unfair treatment in her stay here. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could've done, lest he face Kaz's per usual paranoia-induced rants about _that woman_ or even worse, in his mind: Getting caught up in the middle of a bad-blood argument between Kaz and Ocelot.

The rude attitudes of the staff had been easy enough to deal with whenever he caught someone graffiting above her cell, or calling her disrespectful names. Relentless CQC until they agreed with Big Boss that they'd stop, or a week in the brig was enough to cool their attitudes, at least in public.

Mind made up, he'd do what he could to make things right towards her, then and there. Venom lightly tapped her stocking-clad thigh, indicating for her to spread her legs. She was a little puzzled, but did as requested while stretching, unintentionally showing off her flexibility in thanks to the Parasites.

If she couldn't please him in certain ways due to her condition, he'd make sure as hell that she at least enjoyed herself. He owed her that much since Quiet always had his back during their missions together. He caressed her cheek with his real hand again, wanting to feel her warmth. "Mind if I help you relax?"

Unable to help but smile again for probably the thousandth time that night, she shook her head that it was fine while finally throwing off the top that had covered her now free breasts. She was truly beautiful, in both mind and body. Staff that failed to see Quiet's caring nature...Their loss, really.

Kissing her nose to be met with surprised giggles, Venom lightly planted tender kisses on her throat—the source of her frustrating trouble—as his mouth began to trail agonizingly downwards. Quiet's giggles turned into happy moans escaping her lips, already anticipating.

He'd make things up to her no matter what.

* * *

To his credit, Kaz was trying his damnedest to stay in a good mood, despite his current predicament of missing out on some serious beauty sleep. These days, he really did want to keep his anger levels in check, as the Diamond Dogs' final encounter with Skull Face more than proved exacting revenge didn't make the hurt, the loss, go away.

Not only did Kaz have to deal with the thankless job of overseeing the lately overcrowded Combat Unit, but he had folders of backlogged paperwork that desperately needed the Boss's approval, and soon. Base development, whether space for recruits, platforms to be constructed, or more powerful weapons, didn't stop just because the Boss was deployed on a mission. Of course, Venom wasn't in his room although the chopper touched down a good hour ago. There was one obvious location that Venom could be, one that Kaz really didn't want to visit, if things could be helped.

Of course, they couldn't.

Teeth gritted while deliberately taking a slow stroll through the medical platform, the second-in-command felt some measure of relief that his secret side project had finally met the old timer Code Talker's approval. After what felt like months of tweaking and experimenting to get the flavors _just_ right! Who would have thought that chemical additives were all it took?

Twinkling stars in the dark sky and a slightly chilled salty sea breeze would have soothed Miller's frazzled nerves a lot more, had he not unceremoniously bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going!" He grumbled, flat on his ass, only to realize the offending party wasted no time in offering Miller his crutch while extending a helping hand up. At least his paperwork hadn't been sent flying every which way.

Of course, it just had to be Ocelot, his least favorite staff member. Son of a...

Being in no real position to argue, Kaz accepted the help despite himself, gruffly adding, "Looking for the Boss too?"

"I'd wager he's visitin' his girlfriend." Ocelot actually winked, which caused Miller to shudder internally. "Intel unit's been at something of a standstill lately. Need his opinion on a few things."

Try as he might in the past several months, Miller couldn't help but clash with Ocelot—especially after Ocelot's confession about the truth, after Kaz had been rescued by Venom in Afghanistan. Big Boss's apparent means of looking at the bigger picture by leaving Diamond Dogs to do his dirty work while he busied himself with preparing the true Outer Heaven. Shrewd idea as it might be, the second-in-command couldn't help feel personal betrayal gnawing within his heart. And unless something had changed, his poor commanding officer Venom Snake was none the wiser, playing his own part within this chaotic mess.

Trekking down the metal steps towards Quiet's cell together, Ocelot leading the way, Miller couldn't help but roll his eyes at the sight before him while nearly bumping into the other man. Ocelot for his part looked amused, despite a brief flicker of _something_ in his eyes. Hurt?

The pair were topless in Quiet's shower together, planting kisses wherever they could while avoiding lip contact, gently massaging and caressing the other's body as semi-warm water relaxed their sore muscles from a frankly exhausting day of various field missions.

"Hey!" Kaz snarled as he rattled against that woman's cage with the bottom of his cane. Temper getting the better of him, Kaz himself honestly wasn't sure if these days, it wasn't distrust of Quiet that enraged him, but jealousy.

A ridiculous notion, either way. He had no more feelings of jealousy or love to spare towards _that man_. Only respect towards the mimetic clone in front of him, although it frustrated Miller when Venom would take Ocelot's side during an argument. Didn't Snake understand that Kaz was looking out for Diamond Dogs' best interests? "People walk around here, you know! Have some decency!"

Quiet simply ignored or didn't care about the man's shouting, his rather feeble attempts to interrupt her relaxation. She happily lay against the cold metal floor to soak up the shower water within her skin, in pure bliss and away from the outside world. She was vaguely aware of Venom stepping in front of her to protect her modesty. Nobody was getting a free show on _his_ watch.

Venom sighed at Quiet's indifference, although he grew uncomfortable at the realization neither Ocelot or Kaz were staring at Quiet's chest. They were in fact staring directly at _him_ , taking in the seemingly enjoyable sight of his soaked, muscular, battle-scarred chest and abs.

Oh, for the love of... Were even his two officers in need of some cool down time in the brig? That was more than enough personal eye candy for them!

He loudly cleared his throat in an effort to remind them _My eyes are up here_ in so few actions, his flustered men immediately snapping to attention.

Ocelot continued his silence, his cheeks slightly flushed—weird in Snake's mind—while Miller stupidly exclaimed, "Boss, why do you _insist_ on spending time with this woman? Treatment or not, you'll probably catch some weird disease from her. Why don't you understand that we're concern—"

That did it. The last straw. How dare Miller imply she would ever intentionally endanger the Boss?

Ignoring her supposed indecency, Quiet stood. Her dangerous green eyes began to narrow while her butterfly-shaped battle makeup manifested.

Miller's vision blurring was the next thing he was vaguely aware of. Despite the onslaught of a throbbing headache, he wondered why his face was wet? Feebly reaching to touch it with his only hand, he noticed the now smeared blood practically gushing from his nose.

Big Boss, not Quiet, was the one glaring at Miller, aching back pressed against the cell room's wall from the sheer force of the punch. Quiet, now dressed, just stayed silent alongside Ocelot, as they opted to watch the pair with serious eyes. Kaz was silently thankful that Venom "eased up" on him by _not_ using that prosthetic—damn thing could concuss a man if not careful. It was also for the best he didn't face the wrath of Quiet's deadly abilities—he knew firsthand what the Skulls, let alone Quiet—was capable of. She could easily kill all three of the men without breaking a sweat, if she chose. But she wouldn't, because she knew where her loyalty belonged.

"Boss—" He was honestly shocked to see Venom so angry, especially towards him.

"Can the bullshit. You speak that way towards her one more time and I'll permanently dismiss your ass."

Miller said nothing as his commanding officer roughly helped the younger man to his feet, offering support as his crutch lay askew on the ground. His mind, however, was racing. If that's how things were going to be, perhaps it was time he'd consider resigning? Maybe even finally retire. But no, he couldn't do that. His private thirst for vengeance wouldn't be quenched until he found some way of showing Big Boss what happened when you crossed Kazuhira Miller. Either through one of the sons, or through Venom...Kaz _would_ someday avenge the fallen MSF staff, everything they worked so hard to build, that _that man_ had so carelessly disregarded.

Although, it certainly wouldn't be too difficult to track the bastard down, punch him in his lousy face, and then some. Kaz just felt like an idiot, self-blame at an all time high the past nine years, for suggesting their own security measure of deterrence way back in 1974.

Kaz had a hunch his innocent suggestion towards Big Boss about nuclear power would certainly bite him in the ass, someday. In the meantime, Diamond Dogs were doing what they could to secure and dismantle nukes from various Private Forces, but it had been an uphill battle as of late. At least Venom Snake was seemingly a good man, even during the MSF. At least.

Miller's internal ruminations were cut short at the realization that Snake was speaking to him.

"—doctor on night duty?"

Kaz shook his head. The dizziness thankfully seemed to be gradually fading away on its own.

"No need to worry about that, Boss. I'll be fine." He straightened upright, silently grateful Snake was kind enough to continue supporting him before passing back his crutch.

"I, uh." He owed it to Boss, and to that—No, to _Quiet_ , to be the bigger person and own up to his mistakes. "I'm thankful that you proved my suspicions weren't true." Slightly clouded eyes through his aviators met Quiet's own curious ones. His voice turned strangely calm. "If you want to continue protecting him, Quiet, then by all means, do so. Hell, I'll personally ensure none of the staff harass you."

She gave a simple nod, politely extending her hand to show if he was willing to act mature, she'd be more than happy to agree with his change of heart. Miller slowly accepted, taken aback at how warm her hand felt. Given Quiet's unusual biology, he half-expected her skin to feel, well, rubbery or like freshly fallen leaves. Or at least plant-like in _some_ weird manner!

They shook firmly once, then Kaz gave a short nod at Venom while turning to leave. Venom for his part, was about to offer a sincere apology for the punch, but his second-in-command simply wasn't bringing the topic up. Perhaps Kaz felt he honestly deserved it, or he was trying to override his irritable nature as of late and let bygones be bygones.

Still...

"Kaz, you've seemed so worn down lately. Why not take some time off, look up Ceclie?" He was genuine in his words. Kind words at that, but...

Quiet looked certainly intrigued, while Ocelot looked like he was on the threshold of sheer boredom. An ex-flame of Miller's? Perhaps part of the reason why he was so bitter these days?

Kaz, for his part, was certainly conflicted. He wanted to see her one last time, but... He shook his head. Not happening. She had her own life to continue living, just like Amanda, outside of their private military. "Thanks for the offer, Boss, but there's no way I could afford to risk jeopardizing everything we've worked so hard for. _Someone_ has to help you run the place."

Ocelot finally spoke up, amused. Just to piss him off. "Y'know Miller, I'd be more than happy to—"

"Not. Funny." Miller glared at the other man before letting out a heavy sigh. With slight hesitation, he'd rather have Quiet or old timer Code Talker help run the place than a potential back-stabber like Ocelot. The cowboy for his part caught the second-in-command mutter something about "double think", but the reasoning why, let alone Miller's irritated tone, was lost on him. Weird stuff all around.

The youngest of the three men was already carefully trudging up the metal stairs with his crutch, his paperwork in hand.

Shrugging off Kaz's general weirdness, Ocelot turned to leave himself. Maybe he could catch up to him and they could talk about more private manners...although Miller would shut Ocelot down whenever he attempted to bring up their Boss, the mutual feelings they shared towards him. Christ, the blonde's irritability could try the patience of a saint.

Ah, well. He silently began to wave goodbye.

"Adam." Venom had to say his piece before Ocelot left. It definitely felt bizarre to call him that, for technically the first time, yet. He had to do something to ease Ocelot's apparent hurt. Sad that if Venom's shared memories were still in-tact, Big Boss couldn't help but mainly have eyes for his lady-friend, Eva. Love was funny that way; how one could fall without realizing—Let alone ever intending to fall in love.

"Huh? What's up, John?" The cowboy let out a rare, teasing laugh. "Unlike Miller, I don't really have an old flame to rendezvous with."

If Adam had more...private...thoughts to add, he instead opted to politely continue while gesturing towards Quiet, "But uh, you might want to keep this a secret from if Eva y'all ever cross paths again, hm?"

Quiet, despite not fully understanding the situation, couldn't help but feel equal parts intrigued and amused. Was she supposedly the other woman, now? Too funny.

Snake looked uncomfortable, a frown forming his lips. Ocelot's words during Quiet's interrogation that he was also once "in love with the legend"...That probably still held true, unless something unknown had changed. For whatever reason, Ocelot clearly had no idea that the "John" before him wasn't the real one. Wasn't there anyway to let the poor guy down, gently, without breaking his heart?

Things...suddenly felt a lot more unintentionally complicated. Thanks for that, Boss.

"Uhh...Nothing. Just. Keep up the good work." Snake just couldn't. It wasn't his place. Adam's gray eyes, calm as usual, stayed transfixed on Venom, holding a certain kind of reverence that Venom never really picked up on before. The phrase, rather, _her_ words, about "Loyalty to the end" sprung to mind.

"Will do. Miller and I both need to talk to you about base development matters but...that can wait til tomorrow." He chuckled as Quiet's cheeks turned red. She was so flustered that even her battle makeup briefly manifested.

Adamska—Ocelot—turned to leave, a foot on the stairs.

"Er, hey!"

He turned his head to look back, an eyebrow quirked, "Forget something? You alright, Boss? You're not yourself."

Ain't _that_ the truth! "Fine, I'm fine. Just...need some rest after today's operations is all." The phantom cleared his throat. "Think you can mail something for me tomorrow? It's urgent, though not exactly pressing."

Quiet yawned, looking visibly tired while the two resumed talking. She decided to enjoy an evening "sun tan" on her cell bed.

Last week's package from _him_ had a forwarding address in California—using Venom's old—rather, his real—name. It felt surreal as hell to see, upon his memories unlocking, but no matter. The least he could do for him, a simple note that read "Thank you", alongside his own message on the cassette's B Side. They needed to communicate somehow, after all. Status updates about the base alongside some personal staff updates would suffice. Let him know that Kaz was doing _slightly_ better these days, be vague as hell regarding Ocelot and _that_ matter—John needed to figure it out on his own, after all.

Couldn't forget about the frustrating past situations regarding Huey or Eli. Skull Face's death would've big news all over; certainly he would've caught wind by now. Finally, Snake would have to reassure Big Boss that although Quiet was the woman from the hospital, there was nothing to be concerned about. She and the other Buddies had really saved Venom's ass on more than one occasion during field deployments. He briefly wondered if Ocelot was communicating behind the scenes with John, but if Ocelot himself seemed convinced that John was near him, then...Perhaps some kind of hypnosis _was_ at play? Whatever, it didn't really matter in the long run. As long as Venom had Ocelot's and Kaz's loyalty, then his—their—goals for a united military nation would gradually be achieved.

"No worries. I'll get the address from you when we talk in the morning. Y'all have a good night now."

Good. At least Ocelot seemed happier now, a spring in his step as he walked off, after their chat. Perhaps Ocelot grew lonely at times? He'd imply as much during radio contact, using DD as a front to coax Snake into returning to Mother Base more often. Who wouldn't get lonely, being _supposedly_ near your unrequited love, not being able to do a damn thing about expressing your feelings?

* * *

Unexpressed feelings. It somehow reminded Snake of that girl. Would be wonderful to introduce Quiet to his other friend on the Medical Platform, until he caught himself in the muddled inaccuracies. The truth resurfaced on the fateful morning he received Big Boss's tape. He realized that he never did save Paz, that time. His mind tried protecting him from the truth, but it was impossible to not gradually be prompted to remember...

"Quiet."

"Hmm?" She sat upright, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, barely awake. At this rate, their relaxation would have to wait until morning.

"You were only a member of XOF, right? Never Cipher itself?"

"Mh." She nodded. Her orders were always from Skull Face, although she knew whatever truths and twisted information Skull Face had fed his staff about Zero and Big Boss's personal history. Their eventual falling out over Zero's "grand experiment", as Skull Full had dubbed it.

That certainly ruled out Quiet and Paz having ever run into each other. It's not as if Quiet would've joined any military outfits when _she_ was only sixteen years old. The age Paz had posed as, back in 1974.

"A...dear friend of mine died in the '75 attack. Had she survived, she'd be 34 or so." Venom shut his eyes, a small measure of comfort at Quiet's warm hand atop his. "She was a sweet lady deep down, although she tried to hide her true self."

Snake vaguely remembered the time she caught a cold after she began staying with the MSF. As a doctor, back then, he had in fact been the one to personally deliver any medicine and food to help Paz feel better. A few days' bed rest and she'd be her old self again in no time.

Paz, bundled up in toasty warm blankets and a pink cotton pajama set, regained some of her strength from chicken noodle soup, happily chatting about her cooking adventures with Amanda and Ceclie. In between her petting a purring, sleepy, Nuke curled up within her lap. A mostly empty bowl of herb soup Amanda had offered earlier lay on her bed's nightstand.

Upon noticing a tiny flower within a cup by her window, he couldn't help but tease Paz about having an admirer. Paz had briefly rolled her eyes—Odd—before sharing an innocent laugh about Chico's sweet present.

He had to politely excuse himself after thirty minutes of their friendly chatting. No way in hell he could allow himself to neglect the other sick or injured crew.

Opening the door to leave Paz's room, he had almost bumped right into Snake—Big Boss—about to check-in with Paz, himself. Himself...? His clear blue eye. No. The real Boss, _his_ boss. Venom's head was starting to hurt, the deeper he tried to analyze these mixed up memories. Who was who anymore...?

"Oh, Snake!" Paz, despite her congested voice, especially brightened at seeing _him_ ; Nuke nearly knocked off the bed in the process. The kitten briefly gave Paz a haughty look before finding a new spot to curl up. Thinking back to her response, Paz had certainly been a brilliant actress, pretending to like the Boss considering her true objectives. Or maybe...

Venom could've sworn his heart began to ache.

"Glad to see you're doing a bit better, Paz." He—no, _Ishmael_ —replied while taking a seat at the edge of her bed. Having freshly showered, his exhaustion from a recent mission was evident. Some dark circles under his eye, blood still randomly splattered across his sneaking suit. Even after showering, he still reeked of spices and cigar smoke.

"Boss." A hand on Paz's door, he distinctively remembered frowning, as he—the real him—began to chastise the other man. None of the men or women enjoyed seeing Vic Boss so worn down. Certainly Boss had a job to do, they _all_ did, yet... "Do us a favor and sleep in tomorrow?"

Snake just sighed, rubbing his good eye. "Can't. Glad you're concerned—" He paused, reaching to light up a fresh cigar before thinking better of it. _Bad idea when visiting a sick little girl with a cold, huh._

Then, the former MSF Surgeon recalled angrily snatching the cigar away. "Don't even think about it! You're ruining your health with these!"

Big Boss rolled his eye at the interruption, but let out a good-natured chuckle. Anyone not a close friend would've gotten a death glare, or if John was in a particularly pissy mood, an angry punch to the face. It certainly wasn't the first, or last time he'd been lectured on the health risks associated with smoking. "Don't tell me you're going to start that vaping shit Huey does. The real thing is where it's at."

Paz seemed puzzled by the bantering, but stayed silent. Either taking it all in, or potentially analyzing Big Boss. Trying to see what made him—us—tick, were we?

"Close but no cigar." Boss's doctor laughed at his own stupid play-on-words, returning the cigar to its rightful owner. "Have to stay in tip-top shape if I want to make myself useful around here."

"You go do that.", Snake drawled, actually smirking a little. "See you later."

"Yeah." He briefly gave a smart salute—Boss _hated_ when his close friends, be it himself, Kaz, or their pilot with the callsign Morpho, stood on ceremony—then he winked at Paz, before giving the two some privacy to talk.

"Come back again, okay?" Her sweet-sounding words. Exactly as her phantom had said.

Time for one of MSF's best on Mother Base's Med Team to check on the other patients, miserably bored while cooped up within their rooms.

* * *

It had honestly been difficult to know where Paz's spy ruse ended and her true personality began. But her heartbreaking sacrifice and Paz's eventual reassuring hallucinations gradually guided him to multiple truths, at any rate.

 _"As long as you remember me, I will always live within you."_

The shrapnel near his skull, and the piece near his heart. A disturbingly literal way to look at things.

 _"Not as a phantom limb, or a phantom anything. As a part of your heart."_

Blinking, Venom wondered what the fresh wet puddle was on the floor. His eye focusing, he realized it was vomit. His own. Lovely.

Quiet had been gently holding his ponytail back, her other hand steadied against his shoulder.

"Thanks, Quiet." His mouth felt extremely dry.

The memory wasn't even a nasty one, moreso it was the trauma of losing Paz, even himself, that...

Sighing heavily and crinkling his nose a little, it seemed Ahab's doctor at Cyprus was right. Mental and physical impairment were certainly unavoidable. Seemed that indeed, the same went with trauma...Although it had been difficult, back then, to maintain his cool at the shocking news about his nine year coma and the loss of his arm. How would _he_ have fared, Ahab wondered?

Venom sighed, noticing Quiet's concerned expression. This friend of his was certainly someone important, considering his being so deeply lost in thought.

He just offered Quiet his hand, wanting to leave together for his room. Someone else could worry about cleanup duty. It sure as hell wouldn't be him, especially at this late hour. "I'm fine."

Quiet caught him muttering "Skull Face and his bullshit—". No. She wouldn't allow him to wallow in self-hatred when he did everything in his power to stop that bastard from destroying more lives.

A convenient distraction happened to appear on the platform's deck, but Quiet couldn't have been seeing things right.

Regardless, she excitedly pointed towards the beautiful blue Morpho butterfly fluttering amongst the distant twinkling stars.

Venom felt his good eye twitch slightly. Weren't butterflies diurnal? It was only—rather, already—0200 hours. At least Quiet's visual confirmation of the "target" meant he wasn't having another hallucination on the medical platform. Those were certainly getting tiring. It was bad enough waking up in the morning, momentarily seeing faded colors or difficulty in distinguishing red out in the field, or even while walking around Mother Base...He'd rather not worry Kaz or Ocelot about such matters, if it could be helped.

"You like those?"

Quiet was grinning from ear to ear. Weakly offering a smile, Venom reached out with his real hand, attempting to finally—Gently bringing his hand down to hold hers, she was smiling, shaking her head. No. Let the beautiful creature just _be_.

Thinking about it, wasn't there some saying about butterflies and happiness? How if one sat quietly, happiness would eventually come to you?

Despite not intending to, Snake found himself locking eyes, deeply, with hers, yet again. "I. Uh..." Lovely. Feeling flustered around her. A good night's sleep would certainly do them both wonders, considering the stress.

"Hm?"

"Nothing." He lamely offered, "Er. Sorry about the butterfly." He was far gone, alright.

She just laughed softly, honestly curious what he was on about this time, before...

"Come with me to my room?" A beat. In his haste, he almost forgot to add: "I mean, permanently. No more of that nonsense." His thumb jerked back, towards her cell. Quiet hid her excitement, opting to continue her gentle smiles with an occasional nod at his surprisingly passionate words.

With a snort for good measure, he added, "Let the staff renovate it into a mini-bar for all I care. You're one of us. It's high time we _all_ treated you that way."

"Hey." A thought suddenly occurred to him.

Quiet just blinked. Huh. Boss was unusually talkative tonight, maybe even a little high-strung. But witnessing something so rare made it feel all the more special, in her mind.

"Wanna get to our room the fun way?" He was grinning. This _had_ to be good.

"Eh?"

Puzzled, Quiet allowed Snake to lead her towards the nearby box transport center. Gingerly helping her inside an empty cardboard box laying about, Quiet ducked down to wrap her arms around his waist. She inhaled his pleasant scent as he looked over his shoulder, offering her a tender smile. She began humming, something different from her battle hum. Nice.

Snake didn't recognize it, but he enjoyed her soothing voice all the same.

* * *

Seagulls native to the Seychelles occasionally squawked outside as the ocean waves rolled. There were several shades of blue within that sparkling water if one was especially attentive. Truly paradise, depending on how one looked at it.

"It is time to wake up. It is time to wake up. It is time to—"

 _Click_

With a grunt while rolling onto his side, Venom ignored the now-silent iDroid in favor of the cozy warmth of his bed. Perhaps he'd take his own advice from long ago and sleep in for once. He was fatigued, but happily so. His muscles pleasantly ached from the day's prior mission deployments—and maybe slightly from the private moments within his room last night.

Something soft and warm rolled towards him, atop his bedsheets and blankets.

"Comfy?" He yawned, bringing her close for a light hug. She nuzzled into his chest, a gentle smile forming across her lips. They enjoyed the simple sensation of their bare skin touching. "You're not overheating on me, right?"

The early morning sunlight filtered through Venom's small window. He didn't really require the perks of a huge room just because he was commanding officer, he simply needed a distraction-free place to get work done. Just give him a bed, a bathroom, and an office desk. Then he'd be good to go.

His room was something of a slight mess in its current state; their clothes strewn about wherever on the carpeted floor while his iDroid, eyepatch, and prosthetic arm lay on a bedroom nightstand. Not that either really cared about the mess.

Still half-asleep, Quiet slowly shook her head, reaching to lightly caress his beard. She could get used to these new accommodations easy enough. He did have a personal shower and bathroom within his room that doubled as an office, after all. As for her sun-bathing routine, Quiet could easily find a private spot on one of the various platform decks. Personal freedom was more than a fair tradeoff to ease of access within that gloomy cell.

Venom absentmindedly reached for a cigar—one of the real ones from his birthday earlier in the year. "Huh. I didn't hear D.D. whining last night. I guess he stayed with Ocelot."

With her lightning-fast reflexes, Quiet chucked the unlit cigar onto the floor before he even had time to process what had happened. To be fair, she could've technically smoked herself given her body's current condition—she occasionally partook in cigarettes during the more stressful hired XOF hits—but she frankly never understood the appeal.

"Hey!" "Uh-uh." She gave him a stern glare, crossing her arms. Probably not the best idea in her state of undress, since he felt himself getting distr— _Focus_!

Groaning, Venom nodded in reluctant agreement. "I get you. Birthday present or not, I have to watch my health." He glanced at his amputated arm for emphasis.

Pleased with his answer, she gave him a thumbs-up, beaming. Good. As long as he understood. He could vape on that silly Phantom Cigar for all she cared since it was mainly medicinal plants recovered on the field. Although, missions got dull for her fast when he chose to vape.

He gingerly grabbed Quiet's waist while pulling her towards _their_ bed. "Don't worry about deployment. I'm authorizing today as an off-day."

The couple could certainly get used to their newfound living arrangement, and quickly.

=End=

* * *

Author's Notes: Honestly, I was _super tempted_ in both this fic and Elegia to use the MGS reddit "Quiet is Sokolov's daughter" theory (IMO, everything fits perfectly and MGS universe has a tendency for characters to be related to someone previously known!) but decided it's best to leave Quiet with a sense of mystery about her (sorta like The Boss, even John/BB himself to an extent). Speaking of Quiet, in one of the Shinkawa concept arts, she's smoking a cigarette. Seems to be the vice of choice for several MGS cast members, eh? Big Boss (and probably Venom) would be annoyed!

I didn't flat-out mention Pequod because the poor guy in-game gets replaced as much as a clone fresh out of the Ayanami tank does, but it was supposed to be him (and he would've been alluded to being David's eventual pilot at the end of Elegia, had it crossed my mind).

Some info I forgot to include in my notes last time: the Metal Gear Saga Vol 1 & 2 documentary is where Kojima mentions The Boss and John were lovers (Japanese term: Koibito): They had a complex relationship, but The Boss's motherly aspects is what MGS3 focused on. Ocelot being in love with John/BB I'd say can be inferred (especially with MGSV flat-out stating such!), similar to Kaz possibly having (had?, Considering TPP events) feelings for BB, though Ocelot's feelings were allegedly confirmed by Kojima in an MGS3 commentary.

If you enjoyed this fic and Elegia, please leave me a review so I know what I'm doing right (or wrong). This one would've been out sooner, but, life. Speaking of, my (most likely) final fic offering will be posted on February 15th for AO3's #IFDShare event (more of a dramedy piece than these two). Though I've had a lot of fun getting back into the fic writing game with MGS, I have to focus on personal writings and real life in general. Really glad that people have been enjoying my stories, though!

Ah, and for those on Twitter, I recently started up a Big Boss bot account (quotes lines, talks to you, occasionally I butt in with silly stuff, etc). It's been a blast chatting with other fans via the DMs! You can find him at BigBossENbot if interested.

"Peace!"


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